Spring seat construction



Dec. 12, 195o B D, MOINTYRE 2,534,047

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION BY WMe/MPM B. D. MCINTYRE SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Dec. l2, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. ll, 1944 INVENTOR.

B/eauwee. /Vc//vrwef BY Wm-m Dec. 12, 1950 Q D, MclNTYRE 2,534,047

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION I INVENTOR. I I /Eol/wfe /Vc/v Twee- I I 29 l BY L f l Dec' 12, 1950 B. D. MCINTYRE 2,534,047

SPRING SEAT CONSTRUCTION Filed Dec. ll, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 IN VEN TOR. 'ouwf /Vc//vrnee @MQW Patented Dec. 12, 1950 SPRNG SEAT CNSTBUCTIN Brouwer D. McIntyre, Monroe, Mich., assignor to Monroe Auto Equipment Company, Monroe, Mich., a corporation oi Michigan Application December 1l, i944, Serial No. 567,643

(Cl. l.559)

3 Claims. l

This invention relates to vehicle seats and refers more particularly to improvements in vehicle seat assemblies embodying spring supporting means.

One of the principal objects of this invention is to provide a vehicle seat assembly having a spring mounting for absorbing shocks imparted to the seat through the conventional suspension system When the vehicle passes over uneven or rough road surfaces and having means for damping the action of the spring in the form of a shock absorber.

Another feature of this invention is to provde a relatively simple compact seat supporting unit embodying a coil spring and a tubular direct acting shock absorber extending axially of the spring within the latter. As a result, the seat supporting unit occupies the minimum space .in the vehicle and does not materially increase the over-all size or" the seat assembly.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a vehicle seat assembly supported on vertically spaced iparallel arms arranged beneath the seat proper to insure substantially straight line up and down movement.

A further feature of this invention is to provide a vehicle seat assembly wherein the seat supporting unit is supported at the rear of the seat where it does not interfere with or restrict the elevation of the seat in the Vehicle body and where the shock absorber of the seat supporting unit resists forward pitching motion of the seat.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a seat assembly of the type outlined above having means for adjusting the elevation as Well as the fore-and-aft position of the seat in the vehicle body.

The foregoing as well as other objects will be made more apparent as this description Iproceeds, especially when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a vehicle seat embodying the features of the present invention and having certain parts broken away for the sake of clearness;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line 2 2 oi Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a sectional view through the shock absorber provided in the seat supporting unit.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevation of a slightly1 2i modiiied construction and also having certain parts broken away for the sake of clearness;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary end elevation of the construction shown in Figure 5;

Figure 7 is a side elevation of a portion oi a seat assembly and showing a further embodiment of the invention;

Figure 8 is an end elevation of the construction shown in Figure 7, and

Figure 9 is a cross sectional view taken substantially on the plane indicated by the line S-Q of Figure 8.

Referring now to the embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, it will be noted that the reference character lil designates a seat, II indicates a support for the seat I il and I2 designates a supporting unit for the seat. The seat supporting unit I2 comprises a helical coil spring I3 and a tubular direct acting shock absorber I4.

The seat selected for the purpose of illustrating this invention is an individual truck type seat although it will be apparent as this description proceeds that the invention is equally applicable to practically any type oi vehicle seat. In detail, the seat lll comprises a base portion I5 and a back portion I6 rigidly secured to the base portion I5 at the rear side of the latter by means of brackets l 'I. 'The seat it is mounted on the support I l for sliding movement relative to the support fore-and-aft of the vehicle. For this purpose a pair of tracks I8 are secured to the underside of the base I5 and extend for substantially the full length of the base I5 in parallel lateral spaced relationship. The tracks I3 are fashioned to receive rollers I9 carried by the support II in spaced relation to each other longitudinally of the tracks i8 and suitable stops 25B are respectively provided in the tracks It between the rollers i9 engaging each track so as to limit the extent of sliding movement of the seat in opposite directions relative to the support II`.

The seat is .held in any one of a number of positions of adjustment means of a plunger 2l ppsitioned for selective engagement in suitable openings 22 formed in a part of the support lI. As shown in Figure 3, the plunger 2l is mounted in a bracket 23 secured to the bottom of one of the tracks I5 for movement as a unit with the seat. The plunger 2! is normally urged toward its locking position by means oi a spring Zfi and the outer end oi the plunger is connected to an operating arm 25 intermediate the ends of the latter. The rear end of the arm 25 is pivoted on the bracket 23 by a pin 23' in spaced relation 3 to the plungerZl and the iorward end of the arm extends to a position adjacent the front side of the seat where it may be conveniently manipulated by the occupant of the seat. It follows from the above construction that swinging movement of the arm 25 about its pivotal connection with the bracket in a direction laterally outward from the adjacent side of the seat With- Y draws the plunger 2l from one of the openings 22 against the action of the spring 24 and enables the seat to be moved forwardly or rearwardly on the rollers it. A suitable guide 2t is secured to the underside of the base l5 adjacent the front side of the seat and this guide is slotted to receive the operating arm'25.

The support il for the seat comprises two sections 2i and 2S respectively secured to the flooring 29 of the vehicle and to the base l5 of the seat. The section 23 comprises laterally spaced plates 3e which project beyond the rear Side oI" the seat and carry the rollers i9 previously described as supporting the seat i9. It will also be noted that one of the plates is formed with the openings 22 which cooperate with the plunger El on the seat to hold the latter in any one of its adjusted positions.

The section 2i is also provided with laterally spaced plates 3i secured to the iiooring 29 and respectively located in common planes with the plates Sil. edges of the plates 38 and 3l are substantially parallel to each other and are spaced to enable vertical movement of the section 28 or seat lil relative to the section 2l.

The front edges of the plates du and the adjacent edges of the plates 3i are inclined rear- Y wardly from the front side of the seat. This conare arranged in parallel relationship and the opposite ends of the arms are respectively pivotal 1 ly connected to the plates 3@ and 3|. In detail, the front ends of the arms 32' are journaled on a pin 3ft which. extends transversely through the plates Si and the rear ends ofthe arms 32 are journaled on the pin 35 having the opposite ends Yrespectively anchored in the plates Sil. The front ends of the Yarms 33 are journaled on a similar pin 36 having the opposite ends respectively mounted in the plates 3l directly above the pin Sli and having the rear ends respectively jcurnaled on a pin Si carried by the plates 3d directly above the pin 35. As stated above, the arms 32 are parallel to the arms S3 so that vertical movement of the seat is substantially resricted to a straight line path of travel.

The spring supporting unit l2 is positioned at the rear of the seat 593 and the spring i3 extends upwardly between the rear ends of the plates Sil.'

The lower end of the spring is seated on the flooring 2S oi the vehicle and the upper end of the spring reacts on the section 28 of the seat support, tending to hold the seat in spaced relation to the supporting section 2l.

Upon reference to Figure 2, it will be noted that the upper end of the spring i3 abuts a plate 38 As shown in Figure 1, the adjacent which in turn is connected to the lower end of a screw 3% having a hand engaging wheel 40 at the top thereof. The intermediate portions of the screw 39 are threaded in a nut 4i carried by an inverted U-shaped bracket 62 having the opposite leg portions i3 respectively secured to the portions of the plates 30 extending rearwardly from the seat.

The connection between the lower end of the screw 39 and the plate 38 is such as to enable rotation of the screw relative to the plate. In

detail, a washer @d is secured to the lower end i of the screw and seats in a recess i5 formed in the top surface of the plate 33. A ring i6 is clamped to the plate 38 by studs il and the internal diameter of the ring is suiciently less than the diameter of the recess #i5 to permit the inner portion of the ring to overlap the peripheral portions of the washer Lili. As a result, the washer ifi is rotatably retained in the recess t5 and rotation of the screw 39 relative to the plate 38 causes the nut 4| together with the seat il! to move upwardly or downwardly depending upon the direction of rotation of the screw. This arrangement enables the elevation of the seat il) to be varied by merely manipulating the hand wheel it which is located directly in rear of the seat back i6.

The action of the spring I3 is controlled by the shock absorber i4 which is of the direct acting tubular type and extends through the coil spring i3. Referring again to Figure 2 of the drawings, it will be noted that theupper end of the shock absorber is connected to the central portion of the plate 38 and the lower end of the shock absorber is connected to the flooring 29 of the vehicle. The location of the shock absorber within the spring i3 is important in that it reduces the size of the unit to a minimum and the location of the shock absorber at the rear of the seat is important in that it resists any tendency for the seat to pitch forward when subjected to shocks resulting from uneven or rough road surfaces. Also the location of both the spring and shock absorber at the rear of the seat enables obtaining maximum spring and shock absorber travel without interfering with the elevation of the seat.

While any one of a number of different types of direct acting shock absorbers may be employed in the seat assembly described above,V nevertheless, the type shown in Figure 4 of the drawings is selected for the purpose of illustration. Briefly, the shock absorber I3 comprises a pressure cyl- ,I inder Eiland an outer casing 5I cooperating with the pressure cylinder to provide a reservoir 52 for a hydraulic iiuid medium. The lower'end of the reservoir is closed by a cap 53 having a stud 54 welded or otherwise secured thereto and enabling securing the lower end of the shock absorber to the vehicle body flooring 29. The upper end of Y the reservoir is closed by a suitable plug 55 which is centrally apertured to receive a piston rod 56 havig a piston `5l secured to the lower end thereof.

The piston 57 is provided with an outer series of ports 58 and with an inner series of ports 59. The outer series of ports 58 are normally closed by a check valve e!! and the inner series of ports 59 are normally closed by a laminated pressure relief valve El which is clamped to the bottom of the piston by means of the spring 52. The above construction is such as to enable relatively free flow of fluid through the piston in an :upward direction and to provide more restricted flow downardly through the piston. Also provision is made for adjusting the tension of the spring 62 so that the recoil action of the shock absorber may be varied.

The lower end of the cylinder o is closed by a valve 63 having `a central opening B4 communicating with the reservoir 52` and having a series of ports b5 surrounding `the central opening @il and also communicating with the reservoir. The flow oi fluid into the cylinder 551 through the central opening 56 is controlled by a check valve 66 and the flow of fluid from the cylinder to the reservoir through the ports 65 is regulated by a laminated pressure relief valve 6l'. As a result of this construction, fluid is permitted to flow relatively freely from the reservoir to the cylinder YEll and the new of liu-id in the opposite direction from the cylinder 5t to the reservoir 52 is restricted to a substantial degree.

In operation when the piston 51 travels downwardly, the fluid in the cylinder 553 below the piston passes upwardly through `the series of ports 58 and the pressure of this fluid unseats the check valve Si) to enable the fluid to enter the portion of the cylinder above the piston. Due to the fact that the piston rod 55 occupies a position in the portion of the cylinder above the piston 51, it follows that the available space in this portion of the cylinder is less in volume than the space below the piston. Thus as the piston continues to move in a downward direction in the cylinder, sufficient pressure is built up against the valve 5l to unseat the latter and permit the excess fluid to flow into the reservoir 52.

On the other hand, when the piston moves in an upward direction in the cylinder 553, fluid under pressure acts on the relief valve Si to open the latter and permit fluid under pressure to flow into the portion of the cylinder below the piston. As the piston 5l' travels upwardly in the cylinder, the piston rod 56 moves out of the cylinder and therefore it is necessary to replenish the cylinder with a quantity ci hydraulic iiuid medium. The required additional amount of liuid is supplied by the reservoir 52 through the check valve 66 which opens relatively freely so that very little or no resistanceis olered to the flow of fluid into the cylinder. From the above brief description of the shock absorber, it will be apparent that the construction is such as to materially dampen shocks transmitted to the seat lil through the spring i3.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6 dilers from the one previously described in the manner in which vertical adjustment of the seat is obtained. In the modiiied construction, vertical adjustment of the seat is effected by a vertical screw 'lil having the lower end secured to the seat supporting section 23 and having the upper end projecting through a lateral extension 'il of the spring abutment plate 12, The upper end ci the screw is threaded and a nut 13 is rotatably secured to the plate 12 in threaded contact with the screw.` As a result, rotation of the nut i3 relative to the screw lll in opposite directions raises and lowers the seat Ill.

The embodiment of the invention shown in Figures 7 to 9 inclusive shows still another til method of adjusting the elevation of the seat I0 relative to the vehicle body iiooring E9. In detail, an inverted substantially U-shaped bracket l5 is positioned between the rearwardly extending portions of the plates 38 and the legs 16 of the bracket respectively slidably engage the inner sides of the plates sii. The base portion T1 of the bracket forms an abutment for the upper end of the coil spring i3 and also forms an anchorage for the upper end of the shock absorber Ml. The front edges of the leg portions 'lli are formed with rack teeth lll and selectively engage a pair of dogs 'ill fixed to a shaft 8B. The shaft 89 extends transversely of the plates 30 in advance of the unit l2 and one end of' the shaft is supported in anopening in the adjacent plate It@ while the other end of the shaft is supported by a sup-shaped member 8l secured to the inner` side of the other plate 30 forming a housing with the latter for the adjacent dog 19. A cup-shaped member ill is secured to the supporting plate 3l! in opposed relation to the cup-shaped member Si and the shaft 6U extends through the member Si'.

The dogs 'it are normally held in operative eng-agement with their respective rack teeth 'I8 by a spring 32 surrounding the shaft 3b. One end of the spring b2 ahuts the base of the cupshaped member 8i and the opposite end of the spring engages a washer 83 fixed to the shaft 8B. The arrangement is such that when the dogs 'i9 are in engagement with their respective rack teeth "i8, the seat is held at the selected elevation and when it is desired to change this elevation the shaft Bil is merely pulled outwardly by the handle ell. Suitable projections are provided on the free end of the shaft Sii for limiting the extent of axial movement; of the shaft by the handle 84. The allowable axial travel, however, is suiiicient to disengage the dogs 'i9 from the adjacent raclr teeth llB. In this connection, it will be noted that the part 3D adjacent the handle St is formed with an opening 85 for receiving the` adjacent dog 'F9 when the latter is in its inoperative position and the cup shaped member 8i is formed with an opening 85' for receiving the adjacent dog 'i9 when the shaft is axially moved to place the dogs in their inoperative position out of engagement with the rack teeth lli. The seat may then be raised or lowered the desired distance by merely lifting or pushing the seat downwardly. When the desired adjustment is obtained, the spring 82 is released permitting the dogs to again engage the rack teeth and lock the seat in its adjusted position.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A vehicle seat construction comprising a rlxed supporting section, a vertically movable supporting section spaced above the xed section and connected to the latter for movement relative thereto in a substantially straight line path of travel, a seat having a base positioned above the movable supporting section and connected to the latter for movement as a unit with the latter, a vertical adjusting screw rotatably supported on the movable seat supporting section beyond the rear `edge of the seat and having the upper end thereof projecting above the seat section so as to be readily accessible to a seat rider an abutment rotatably connected to the lower end of said screw whereby the elevation of said movable supporting section may be adjusted by the rider while sitting on the a coil spring supported under compression between the abutment and a relatively xed part of the vehicle, and a direct acting tubular type shock absorber extending axially through the coil spring and having the opposite ends respectively connected to the relatively xed part aforesaid of 'the vehicle and to said abutment.

2. A vehicle seat construction comprising a seat having a base portion supported above a part of a Vehicle for movement toward and away from the latter part, means supported beneath the base portion of the seat for guiding movement of the seat in a substantially straight line path of travel, an abutment carried by the seat at the rear side of the latter and at an elevation above the base portion of the seat, a, coil spring supported under compression between the abutment and part aforesaid of the Vehicle, a tubular direct acting shock absorber extending axially through the spring and having the opposite ends respectively` connected to the abutment and part aforesaid of the vehicle, and means for adjusting the seat on the abutment in a general vertical direction to vary the elevation of the seat relative to the part aforesaid of the vehicle.

3. A vehicle seat construction comprising a, seat having a base portion supported above a xed part of a vehicle for movement toward and away Y from the latter part, means for guiding movement ofthe seat in a substantially straight line path of travel, an abutment carried by the seat at the rear side of the latter, a coil spring supported at the rear side of the seat under compression between the abutment and fixed part of the vehicle,

a tubular direct acting shock absorber extending axially through the coil spring and having the opposite ends respectively connected to the abutment and fixed part of the vehicle, and means for adjusting the seat on the abutment in a general vertical direction to vary the elevation of the seat relative to the xed part of the vehicle.

BROUWER D. MCINTYRE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,112,354 Brooks Sept. 29, 1914 1,960,939 Hansen May 29, 1934 2,201,280 Yantes May 21, 1940 2,272,124 Lingle Feb. 3, 1942 2,334,922 Gustafson Nov. 23, 1943 l2,346,895 Bergman Apr. 18, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 41,938 Holland Nov. 15, 1937 154,369 Great Britain .Y Dec. 2, 1920 299,207 Great Britain Oct. 25, 1925 556,818 France July 27, 1923 687,271 France Aug. 6, 1930 

